New types and forms of mattresses and mattress accessories continue to be developed for traditional bedroom use, as well as for such diverse uses as camping, boating and recreational vehicle traveling. For example, some mattresses provide support against weight using springs, some mattresses are filled with air, some mattresses are filled with water, whereas some mattresses are made of memory foam or have a layer of memory foam to provide support against weight.
When weight is applied against an edge of a mattress, the mattress deforms and does not provide support. Mattress deformation is particularly a problem for air mattresses. Rigid frames that surround the mattress are used to provide support at the edges of a mattress and provide support against weight placed at the edge of a mattress.
FIG. 1 (prior art) is a perspective view of a prior art frame structure used to support edges of a mattress. The frame attachment structure includes first side 10, second side 12, third side 14 and fourth side 16. First side 10 and third side 14 are substantially the same in size and second side 12 and fourth side 16 are substantially the same in size. The first side 10, second side 12, third side 14 and fourth side 16 are made of a foam material. A cloth 20 or other material such as plastic is affixed to each of first side 10, second side 12, third side 14 and fourth side 16 so that each side stays in place relative to other sides. The first side 10, second side 12, third side 14 and fourth side 16 provide a frame for a mattress. For example, the mattress would be placed underneath cloth 20 so that if no other cover is used, a person would contact cloth 20 when sitting on the mattress.
To package the frame structure of FIG. 1 for shipping, the sides are folded inward but maintain a connection with cloth 20. The resulting structure has both length and width larger than a size of the mattress it is to surround, which can consume too much space during transportation.
One drawback with this frame structure of FIG. 1 is that the frame is bulky and takes up more space than desired during transportation. It is desirable to minimize the size of goods during transportation in order to reduce costs and increase the amount of goods that can be transported. In addition, the process of mounting the sides to cloth 20 can be complicated, and gaps are present in the frame so that the evenness of support of edges of a mattress may not be acceptable to a user.
FIG. 2 (prior art) is a perspective view of another prior art frame structure. The frame structure includes first side 10, second side 12, third side 14 and fourth side 16. In this structure, however, four replicas of corner 24 are used so that sides are set in place. Each corner 24 has two inlets and each inlet receives a side so that sides are formed ninety (90) degrees from each other. The mattress is placed inside the boundaries of the sides.
To package the frame structure of FIG. 2 for transporting, the sides are disconnected from each corner 24 and the sides are placed together and separate from the corners. The resulting structure that is to be shipped has a length larger than a size of the mattress it is to surround, which can consume too much space during transportation.
One drawback with the frame structure of FIG. 2 is that it consumes too much space during transportation. In addition, the user of the frame has to construct the frame, which may dissuade customers from purchasing the frame. In addition, the frame does not provide uniform support to edges of a mattress because there are different widths of material used to surround a mattress.